Basic Information:

Name – CAO Extreme

Producer – CAO Cigars

Size – Robosto

Wrapper – Ecuador Habano Ligero

Tobacco Blend – Nicaragua, Honduras

Pricing – $3.88

Body – Full

Construction/Appearance:

There are two bands on this cigar. One that is about half an inch and another that takes up the whole bottom 2/3 of the cigar. Really cool splattered steel mesh print with black, orange and white fonts.

Cigar is medium brown with evident dark gradients that take on a marbleized appearance.  Oily but silky smooth to the touch.

Pre-Light:

Aroma:  ​Sweet almost perfumed cedar with some barnyard notes as well.

Type of Cut: V-cut

Cold Draw:  Muted cedar, earth and roasted walnut. Good draw.

After Toast:

First Third:

Toasted oak and walnut are the immediate notes upon toast. Really rich and heavy on the palate. Some black pepper kicks up a few minutes in along with creamy chocolate mixed with subtle spice. Toward the end of the first third, a fresh coffee bean note is revealed.  Burn is razor sharp and the ash is light gray in color.

Second Third:

Starts with note of charred oak while holding on to the original spice and pepper. About 10 minutes into the third there are espresso notes are coming forth. This cigar still has a razor-sharp burn. The ash fell off at the 2-inch mark.

Final Third:

The espresso and spice notes are still evident during the transition along with a hazelnut flavor. Hits a sweet spot for me since I enjoy a good hazelnut coffee in the morning.  A leather note is now present in this third.  It is like a well-oiled baseball glove.  Pepper still comes in hard on the finish and is picking up strength.

Suggested Pairing:

Bourbon – Knob Creek Single Barrel

Wine – San Guiseppe Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG or Emmolo Merlot

Overall Experience:

All around, this CAO Extreme cigar is a powerful stick. I would not recommend for the novice.  This is a kind of stick you save for days when you come home from work and want to put the strongest drink and smoke combo together to help you decompress. I have only ever found these at Cigars International.

About CAO– http://caocigars.com/